Page 86 of Third Wheel

Surprisingly, that was enough to lighten a lot of the tension that was weighing Zach down, and he barked a short laugh.

“Oh, yeah?” he asked, only half-joking as he turned in his seat. “And what do you think?”

“I think Olivia is right. You get tied up in knots trying to make a decision. You’re always worried you’re making the wrong one.You look at everything from every angle, so when you do finally make a decision, you’ve really weighed out every possibility. The problem is that when something is high stakes, you’re so afraid of what will go wrong that you avoid making the decision at all.” Brian shrugged. “That’s why I’m going to refuse to tell you what to do. I’m here to listen, but you have to figure this out.”

“Well, I’m not here to listen,” Olivia said, hopping up from her seat. She smacked Zach on the back of his head, hard enough to sting and make him duck, though not so hard that it was truly painful.

“Ow!” He turned around to face her again.

“You’re going to have to do more than talk to Kincaid. You’re going to have toshowhim you’re serious this time. Actions talk louder than words. Stop sitting on your ass and waiting for the universe to show you the way. You’ve had over a year to think about it; now, it’s time to do something.” And with that, Olivia sauntered away. Brian and Zach watched her go, Zach rubbing the back of his head as he turned her words over in his thoughts.

Then he frowned.

“Wait a second, how did she even know what we were talking about?” he asked.

Both he and Brian swung around to stare at Shane. The bartender studiously ignored their stares, focusing on the glass he was polishing in his hand.

“Traitor,” Zach accused.

Shane just shrugged.

Fuck. Olivia was right. He needed to show Kincaid that he mattered. He needed to show Kincaid that he wasn’t going to be a hidden part of Zach’s life for the rest of their lives.

It wasn’t enough to tell him that he would. He needed to do it. Now. Before he lost his courage.

He glanced at Brian.

“Not to sound like a complete pansy, but… I’m going to go talk to my parents. Can you come with me?”

“Shut that toxic masculinity bullshit down, and sure,” Brian said with a snort. “You’re not a pansy. You’re about to go face down your fears. You’re about to make yourself emotionally vulnerable. Anyone who thinks that’s pansy is someone who’s afraid to own up to their own shit.”

That was true enough. Zach felt the tightness in his chest still, but some of it had eased. Brian was going to be there for him. He didn’t know whether Kincaid would be there at the end of the day, but he was going to go tell his parents, anyway. He needed to show Kincaid that he meant every word he’d ever said, every promise he’d made, and that he wasn’t just going to wait until the end of the month because of his sister’s ultimatum.

It was time to do what he’d been too scared to do for the past year and tell his parents who he really was and who he really loved.

Then he needed to tell Kincaid, and probably grovel, as well as apologize to Amy.

“Do you think I should tell Kincaid I’m going beforehand? Or wait till after? No, shit, wait. Holy fuck, do I really expect everyone to make my decisions for me?” Fuck. Was that why he’d been drawn to Kincaid being a Dom? So Kincaid could make the decisions in a scene? He was always happy to follow Kincaid’s lead when they were scening with a third. Fuck.

“You’re just asking for feedback; I think that’s normal.” Brian shrugged. “I’ve asked for advice a time or two myself, you know. But if you’re thinking about contacting him because you’re worried, don’t. After you texted me, I told Mitch to check in on him.”

Well, that was a relief. Zach sighed.

“Good. Then let’s go tell my parents, then I’ll go grovel to Kincaid, and then, hopefully, we can figure out where Amy went, and I can grovel to her, too.”

“You know… do you think you told your parents that Amy was your girlfriend because you wished she was? Your and Kincaid’s girlfriend, I mean.”

Zach groaned and pressed his hands back into his eyes. “Dude. Shut up. I cannot deal with that right now.”

One thing at a time.

31

Kincaid

The knock on the door made him frown. Then he sighed in exasperation when it was immediately followed by Mitch’s voice, muffled but recognizable.

“Little pig, little pig, let me in!”

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